South Korea's Military Spending Surpasses Japan... Rises to 9th Place Worldwide

Global Military Spending Grows to Record High
Security Concerns Spread Due to Ukraine War Outbreak
US-China Military Gap Still Over Threefold

Last year, South Korea's military expenditure ranked 9th worldwide, surpassing Japan. Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February last year, military spending increased in all countries, leading to an all-time high in global military expenditure. In particular, the United States accounted for nearly 40% of global military spending, reportedly maintaining a scale more than three times that of China.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to CNN on the 24th (local time), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported in its '2022 World Military Expenditure Trends' that South Korea's military expenditure last year was $46.4 billion (approximately 62 trillion won), surpassing Japan's $46 billion, which ranked 9th the previous year.

The total global military expenditure also increased by 3.7% compared to the previous year, reaching $2.24 trillion, the largest scale ever recorded. This amount corresponds to 2.2% of the world's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). SIPRI explained, "Global military expenditure has increased annually for eight consecutive years since 2015, and compared to 2013, it has risen by 19% over the past decade."

The country with the highest military expenditure was the United States ($877 billion), followed by China (estimated $292 billion). The military spending gap between the two countries was estimated to be more than threefold. Russia (estimated $86.4 billion), engaged in the Ukraine war, ranked third, India ($81.4 billion) fourth, and Saudi Arabia (estimated $75 billion) fifth. European countries such as the United Kingdom ($68.5 billion), Germany ($55.8 billion), and France ($53.6 billion) followed. Ukraine, which was ranked 36th in 2021, also became the country with the second-largest military expenditure after Japan last year, spending $44 billion since the war began in February.

By region, Europe, where the Ukraine war is currently ongoing, had the largest military expenditure. Europe's military spending increased by 13% compared to the previous year, reaching $480 billion, the highest since the end of the Cold War (1989). The European countries that increased their military spending most rapidly were those neighboring Russia, including Finland (36% increase), Lithuania (27% increase), Sweden (12% increase), and Poland (11% increase).